Dielectric resonators are used in many circuits, particularly microwave circuits, for concentrating electric fields. They can be used to form filters, oscillators, triplexers, and other circuits. The higher the dielectric constant of the dielectric material from which the resonator is formed, the smaller the space within which the electric fields are concentrated. Suitable dielectric materials for fabricating dielectric resonators are available today with dielectric constants ranging from approximately 10 to approximately 150 (relative to air). These dielectric materials generally have a mu (magnetic constant, often represented as μ) of 1, i.e., they are transparent to magnetic fields.
However, it is essentially impossible to build an effective dielectric resonator circuit with dielectric resonators having a dielectric constant greater than about 45. Specifically, as the dielectric constant increases above about 45, it becomes extremely difficult to tune such filters and other circuits because of the strong field concentrations in and around the dielectric resonators (mostly inside the dielectric resonators, but with some field outside). Spurious response, in particular, becomes a huge problem in connection with low frequency circuits, e.g., 800 MHz and lower). Poor spurious response is particularly a problem with respect to lower frequency applications because the dielectric resonators at lower frequencies must be physically larger.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical cylindrical or doughnut-type dielectric resonator of the prior art that can be used to build dielectric resonator circuits, such as filters. As can be seen, the resonator 10 is formed as a cylinder 12 of dielectric material with a circular, longitudinal through hole 14. While dielectric resonators have many uses, their primary use is in connection with microwave circuits and particularly, in microwave communication systems and networks.
As is well known in the art, dielectric resonators and resonator filters have multiple modes of electrical fields and magnetic fields concentrated at different frequencies. A mode is a field configuration corresponding to a resonant frequency of the system as determined by Maxwell's equations. In a typical dielectric resonator circuit, the fundamental resonant mode, i.e., the field having the lowest frequency, is the transverse electric field mode, TE01 (or TE, hereafter). The electric field of the TE mode is circular and is oriented transverse of the cylindrical puck 12. It is concentrated around the circumference of the resonator 10, with some of the field inside the resonator and some of the field outside the resonator. A portion of the field should be outside the resonator for purposes of coupling between the resonator and other microwave devices (e.g., other resonators or input/output couplers) in a dielectric resonator circuit.
It is possible to arrange circuit components so that a mode other than the TE mode is the fundamental mode of the circuit and, in fact, this is done sometimes in dielectric resonator circuits. Also, while typical, there is no requirement that the fundamental mode be used as the operational mode of a circuit, e.g., the mode within which the information in a communications circuit is contained.
The second mode (i.e., the mode having the second lowest frequency) normally is the hybrid mode, H11δ (or H11 mode hereafter). The next lowest-frequency mode that interferes with the fundamental mode usually is the transverse magnetic or TM01δ mode (hereinafter the TM mode). There are additional higher order modes. Typically, all of the modes other than the fundamental mode, e.g., the TE mode, are undesired and constitute interference. The H11 mode, however, typically is the only interference mode of significant concern. However, the TM mode sometimes also can interfere with the TE mode, particularly during tuning of dielectric resonator circuits. The H11 and TM modes are orthogonal to the TE mode and are axial modes, that is, their field lines run in the direction of the axis of the DR.
The remaining modes usually have substantial frequency separation from the TE mode and thus do not cause significant interference or spurious response with respect to the operation of the system. The H11 mode and the TM mode, however, can be rather close in frequency to the TE mode and thus can be difficult to separate from the TE mode in operation. In addition, as the bandwidth (which is largely dictated by the coupling between electrically adjacent dielectric resonators) and center frequency of the TE mode are tuned, the center frequency of the TE mode and the H11 mode move in opposite directions toward each other. Thus, as the TE mode is tuned to increase its center frequency, the center frequency of the H11 mode inherently moves downward and, thus, closer to the TE mode center frequency. The TM mode typically is widely spaced in frequency from the fundamental TE mode when the resonator is in open space. However, when metal is close to the resonator, such as would be the case in many dielectric resonator filters and other circuits which use tuning plates near the resonator in order to tune the center of frequency of the resonator, the TM mode drops in frequency. As the tuning plate or other metal is brought closer to the resonator, the TM mode drops extremely rapidly in frequency and can come very close to the frequency of the fundamental TE mode.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a microwave dielectric resonator filter 20 of the prior art employing a plurality of dielectric resonators 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d. The resonators 10a, 10b, 10c, 10dare arranged in the cavity 22 of an enclosure 24. Microwave energy is introduced into the cavity via a coupler 28 coupled to a cable, such as a coaxial cable. Conductive separating walls 32a, 32b, 32c, 32dseparate the resonators from each other and block (partially or wholly) coupling between physically adjacent resonators 10a, 10b, 10c. Particularly, irises 30a, 30b, 30c in walls 32b, 32c, 32d, respectively, control the coupling between adjacent resonators 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d. Walls without irises generally prevent any coupling between adjacent resonators. Walls with irises allow some coupling between adjacent resonators. By way of example, the field of resonator 10a couples to the field of resonator 10b through iris 30a, the field of resonator 10b further couples to the field of resonator 10c through iris 30b, and the field of resonator 10c further couples to the field of resonator 10d through iris 30c. Wall 32a, which does not have an iris, prevents the field of resonator 10a from coupling with physically adjacent resonator 10d on the other side of the wall 32a. Conductive adjusting screws may be placed in the irises to further affect the coupling between the fields of the resonators and provide adjustability of the coupling between the resonators, but are not shown in the example of FIG. 2.
One or more metal plates 42 may be attached by screws 43 to the top wall (not shown for purposes of clarity) of the enclosure to affect the field of the resonator and help set the center frequency of the filter. Particularly, screws 43 may be rotated to vary the spacing between the plate 42 and the resonator 10a, 10b, 10c, or 10dto adjust the center frequency of the resonator. An output coupler 40 is positioned adjacent the last resonator 10d to couple the microwave energy out of the filter 20 and into a coaxial connector (not shown). Signals also may be coupled into and out of a dielectric resonator circuit by other methods, such as microstrips positioned on the bottom surface 44 of the enclosure 24 adjacent the resonators. The sizes of the resonator pucks 10, their relative spacing, the number of pucks, the size of the cavity 22, and the size of the irises 30a, 30b, 30c all need to be precisely controlled to set the desired center frequency of the filter and the bandwidth of the filter. More specifically, the bandwidth of the filter is controlled primarily by the amount of coupling of the electric and magnetic fields between the electrically adjacent resonators. Generally, the closer the resonators are to each other, the more coupling between them and the wider the bandwidth of the filter. On the other hand, the center frequency of the filter is controlled largely by the sizes of the resonators themselves and the sizes of the conductive plates 42 as well as the distance of the plates 42 from their corresponding resonators 10. Generally, as the resonator gets larger, its center frequency gets lower.
The volume and configuration of the conductive enclosure 24 substantially affects the operation of the system. The enclosure minimizes radiative loss. However, it also has a substantial effect on the center frequency of the TE mode. Accordingly, not only must the enclosure usually be constructed of a conductive material, but also it must be very precisely machined to achieve the desired center frequency performance, thus adding complexity and expense to the fabrication of the system.